Ex-Northbrook officer pleads guilty, receives probation

A former Northbrook police officer has been sentenced to two year probation after he agreed to plead guilty to charges that he stole jewelry from a home he’d been dispatched to check on.

Enrique Guzman, 34, resigned from his position as a Northbrook officer shortly after he was charged in late January with felony theft and official misconduct. On Tuesday, Guzman agreed to plead guilty to one count of official misconduct, and in exchange for his guilty plea prosecutors dropped the theft charges, officials said.

According to court records, when Northbrook police suspected that Guzman was responsible for several thefts and burglaries in the community, they worked with the FBI to set a trap in January that authorities say the 12-year Northbrook police veteran allegedly walked right into.

Authorities said they set up cameras in a Northbrook home and got videotape showing Guzman stealing a fake diamond ring after he was called there to check. Guzman had been told to respond to the address for a report that a door had been left open, records show.

Guzman arrived at the home in a Northbrook police car within a few minutes, according to the court document. The FBI had concealed three video cameras in the residence, monitoring the front door, kitchen and bedroom, the court document said. A jewelry box with a fake diamond ring inside had been set up on a dresser in the bedroom, the document said.

Wearing civilian clothing and carrying a firearm, Guzman entered the house, walked into the bedroom and was videotaped on a hidden camera putting the jewelry box into his pocket, according to the court document. A few hours after that, Guzman was called to Northbrook Village Hall, where FBI agents confronted him, according to the court document. Guzman still had the stolen jewelry in his pocket during the interview, documents show.

Guzman told investigators that he took the jewelry to give to his girlfriend, according to a court document filed by the Cook County state's attorney's office. Conditions of his bond included turning in firearms, a FOID card and passport and electronic home monitoring, officials said.